Mayweather: ‘Yes, I’m going to retire’

In the end, Floyd Mayweather Jr. did just enough to win the WBC super welterweight title.

And if he is true to his word, which is hard to believe given what he had just accomplished, this was his last fight, and he went out on top Saturday as he earned a 12-round split decision over Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand Garden.

"Yes, I'm going to retire," Mayweather said. "I'm a six-time world champion in five divisions. I don't have anything else to prove. I want to spend more time with my children and move on to bigger and better things."

Mayweather withstood De La Hoya's pressure tactics thanks to his right hand, which was his most effective weapon. Mayweather landed the right on a consistent basis, and it ultimately kept him undefeated as a professional as his record improved to 38-0.

Judges Jerry Roth and Chuck Giampa thought Mayweather did enough as Roth had him ahead 115-113 and Giampa scored the fight 116-112. Tommy Kaczmarek had De La Hoya winning 115-113.

"Look at the PunchStats," Mayweather said. "Look at the PunchStat numbers, and I'm the new champion."

The figures backed up his claim. Mayweather not only landed a higher percentage of punches (43 percent to De La Hoya's 21 percent), he also had the edge in jabs connected (69 to De La Hoya's 40) and had a far higher percentage of power punches landed (57 percent to 24 percent).

"I had fun in there," Mayweather said. "It was a hell of a fight. I told the fans I would give them a good fight, and I did.

"It was easy work for me. He was rough and tough, but he couldn't beat the best."

When Mayweather elected to box rather than absorb punishment from De La Hoya while laying on the ropes, he was the dominant fighter. But for good portions of the fight, Mayweather was electing to stand and slug or catch De La Hoya's flurries of punches.

De La Hoya appeared to be the busier fighter most of the night, but he wasn't necessarily the most effective. Mayweather's defense was good, and he caught few clean shots that could have hurt him.

Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr., who was sitting at ringside a few rows behind his son's corner with tickets supplied by De La Hoya, thought Floyd Jr. had lost.

"My son had good defense and caught a lot of his punches," Mayweather Sr. said. "But I think Oscar pressed the fight and did enough to win."

But when pressed on how he came to that determination, Floyd Sr. backpedaled a little.

"I think it was a really good fight," he said.

Despite having to fight defensively at times, that right hand always was there when Mayweather needed it. And he made De La Hoya pay, particularly in the late rounds as he would connect three, four, sometimes five times to the side of De La Hoya's head.

Those punches apparently counted a lot with Roth and Giampa and probably turned the fight in Mayweather's favor.

Roth and Giampa had Mayweather winning four of the final five rounds.

Mayweather knew he was tempting fate by leaving the decision in the judges' hands. But he thought he had done enough to win.

"Well, we were fighting a Golden Boy promotion, and anything can happen," Mayweather said. "I could see his shots coming. I stayed on the outside and made him miss. It was a masterpiece of boxing.

"I showed you why I'm the best fighter of this era. I just fought the best fighter in our era, and I beat him. I came in (the ring) at 148 (pounds), so tonight a welterweight beat a junior middleweight."

Mayweather insists this is it. Whether anyone believes him is another story. With the split decision leaving a bad taste in the mouths of many of the sellout crowd of 16,700, the stage appears to be set for a rematch this year or in 2008.